Graduate Students
Kym Bradley
Kym received her bachelor's degree in Women's Studies and History with a minor in Queer studies from the University of California, Irvine. She is currently working towards her master's degree. Her thesis is on the journey of development of gendered and sexualized identities as they connect to other matrices of identification. Her research is couched within Queer Theory and Postmodernism and focuses on the interplay of gender and sexuality as it connects to performativity. Her thesis is based on 20 qualitative interviews of self-identified LGBQ individuals. Her interests are concepts of gender identity, constructions of heteronormativity as it affects aspects of identity, media representations, and social theory. Kym has recently had her articled entitled "(Re)Presentations of (Hetero)Sexualized Gender in Two and a Half Men: A Content Analysis" accepted for publication at the Journal of Gender Studies. It will be published in the January 2013 issue. Kym can contacted at kabradle@pdx.edu.
Tina Burdsall
Tina received her bachelor’s degree in Sociology from the University of California, Santa Barbara, her master’s degree in Sociology from Portland State University, and is now working towards her PhD. She has been working with Dr. Matthew Carlson on the Oregon Health Plan Lottery Study. This study is using the unique research situation created by Oregon's public insurance lottery design to look at what effects there are for low-income individuals who were selected for Medicaid coverage in Oregon versus a similar group who were not selected for coverage. Tina's interests are in medical sociology and health disparities in both experience and outcomes for low-income individuals. She is interested in research design and both qualitative and quantitative research methodologies. She is an active member of the PSU Sociology Club, a Co-Chair of the Pacific Sociological Association’s Student Affairs Committee and a lifetime member of Phi Kappa Phi Honors Society. You can reach Tina at tdb@pdx.edu.
Frank Goulart
Frank is interested in the role of organized labor in relation to globalization and ecological crisis. His research examines the closure of a worker-owned paper mill in Oregon and explores the challenges to achieving regional social sustainability in an era of global capital. Broadly, his interests are in the labor and environmental movements, class, power, theory, and political and economic sociology. Frank’s background is in both business and sociology, and upon entering PSU’s program he was awarded the Laurels scholarship for academic merit and the promotion of diversity. He has worked in public health, supporting county-level research and policy, is currently an information systems consultant to a global metals recycling firm, and has taught courses in computer languages and systems design. After receiving his masters Frank plans to pursue a PhD in sociology. He can be reached at fggoulart@yahoo.com.
Katy Griffin
Katy Griffin received her Bachelor's degree in Development Sociology from Cornell University in 2007, with a minor in Feminist, Gender, and Sexuality Studies. Katy is currently working toward the completion of her Master's degree in Sociology from PSU. Her research utilizes a feminist lens to conduct a gendered analysis of an original ethnographic case study. This study was conducted in a Sri Lankan village residing in the buffer zone of a governmentally protected area. Katy examines natural resource use and management through qualitative interviews. She focuses on household division of labor and the potential impact on mitigating strategies involved in Human Elephant Conflict (HEC). After graduating from PSU Katy hopes to continue her work on HEC through the addition of a comparative transnational component, while also pursuing her Ph.D. Katy can be contacted at griffin.katy@gmail.com.
Jennifer Loomis
Jennifer Loomis received her B.A. in Sociology with a minor in Spanish from Colorado State University in 2005. She graduated with her M.A. in Sociology from Colorado State University in 2010. While at Colorado State she collaborated with Engineers without Borders on a potable water project in rural El Salvador. She worked as a research assistant for the Center for Fair and Alternative Trade (CFAT) and the Center for the Study of Crime and Justice (CSCJ) in addition to being a teaching assistant. Her thesis was a case study of a local organic farmers? market in the Andean region of Peru. She sought to develop recommendations to improve demand at the market, contributing to the economic development of small organic farmers in the area. Her research interests are medical sociology, environmental sociology, and disaster studies. Jennifer may be contacted at jloomis@pdx.edu.
Jerry Loveless
Jerry graduated from the University of Montana in 2002, earning a BA in Sociology with an emphasis in Criminology and a minor in Media Arts. After working over a decade in social services (i.e. 1.5 years with victims of personal violent crime, and 9 years with SED/At-risk youth) and spending 6.5 years playing in a touring rock n' roll band, Jerry chose to pursue his MS in Sociology at Portland State University with the primary goal of obtaining a full-time position as a community college sociology instructor. He is currently completing his thesis research regarding faculty perspectives and structural barriers associated with the use of music as a pedagogical tool in higher education sociology courses. Jerry's interests include education, creative pedagogy, learning, music, art, juvenile delinquency, criminology, and dehumanizing effects of bureaucratic systems. He may be reached at glove2@pdx.edu.
María Janeth Mosquera Becerra
Janeth graduated in Social Work at the Valle University (Cali-Colombia) and worked for five years in ACUAVALLE, a public utility company in an educational program having to do with the rational use of water in urban contexts. Then, she got a Master’s Degree in Social Work at the Federal University of Pernambuco (Recife-Brazil). Upon her return to Cali, she joined three projects at Valle University in the Faculty of Health. In 2006, she got a Master´s Degree in Epidemiology at the Valle University. As a student and later as an epidemiologist, she joined the Epidemiology and Public Health Group -GESP (http://www.grupogesp.org) - and worked simultaneously in the FES-Social Foundation Health Division as researcher and at the Valle University as professor. In 2009 she won a Fulbright scholarship. Her current goal is to carry out doctorate studies in sociology with which she intend to strengthen and further integrate the fields she work in: health, environment and urban contexts. More specifically, she is interested in aspects related to health inequalities in urban territories combining qualitative and quantitative methods. You can contact Janeth at maria7@pdx.edu
Recent publications:
Mosquera J, Parra D, Gomez LF, Sarmiento OL, Schmid T, and Jacoby E. An Inside Look at Active Transportation in Bogotá: A Qualitative Study. Journal of Physical Activity and Health. In Press. Acceptance Date: June 22, 2011
Hallal P, Gomez L, Parra D, Lobelo F, Mosquera J, Florindo A, Reis R, Pratt M, Sarmiento OL.
Lessons Learned After 10 Years of IPAQ Use in Brazil and Colombia. Journal of Physical Activity and Health. 2010, 7(Suppl 2), S259-S264
Gómez L, Mosquera J, Jacoby E. Salud, Vida Activa y Ambientes Urbanos: Las ciudades vuelven a ser importantes. In Obesidad qué Podemos Hacer. Una Mirada desde la Salud Pública. Francisco Mardones Santander (Ed). ED UC. Santiago de Chile. 2009
Mosquera J, Gómez OL, Méndez F. Impact perception on health, social and physical environments of the municipal solid waste disposal site in Cali. Rev. Salud Pública, 2009:11 (4)
Parra D, Gómez L, Pratt M, Sarmiento OL, Mosquera J, Triche E. Policy and Built Environment Changes in Bogotá and their Importance in Health Promotion. Indoor and Built Environment, 2007;16: 344-348.
Caroline Smith
Caroline Smith is a social epidemiologist in the Safety & Health Research for Prevention (SHARP) program at the Washington State Department of Labor and Industries. Caroline received her Bachelor's degree in Sociology/Antropology from Lewis and Clark College, her Master's in Public Health from the University of Washington and is currently pursuing her Ph.D. at Portland State University. Caroline's research interests are primarily in medical sociology and work and occupations. Specifically her research interests include occupational health disparities for racial and ethnic minorities, contingent workers and other special populations such as older workers and immigrant populations, as well as various types of labor market inequalities (wage inequalities, gender segregation, etc). Caroline is a member of the Pacific Sociological Association, American Sociological Association, American Statistical Association and the American Public Health Association. You can reach Caroline at smick@pdx.edu.
Selected publications:
Fan, Z. J., Smith, C. K., & Silverstein, B. A. (2011). Responsiveness of the QuickDASH and SF-12 in workers with neck or upper extremity musculoskeletal disorders: One-year follow-up. Journal of Occupational Rehabilitation, 21(2), 234-243. URL: http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s10926-010-9265-1
Bonauto, D. K., Smith, C. K., Adams, D. A., Fan, Z. J., Silverstein, B. A., & Foley, M. P. (2010). Language preference and non-traumatic low back disorders in Washington state workers' compensation. American Journal of Industrial Medicine, 53(2), 204-215. URL: http://dx.doi.org/10.1002/ajim.20740
Smith, C. K., Bonauto, D. K., Silverstein, B. A., & Wilcox, D. (2010). Inter-rater reliability of physical examinations in a prospective study of upper extremity musculoskeletal disorders. Journal of Occupational and Environmental Medicine, 52(10), 1014-1018. URL: http://dx.doi.org/10.1097/JOM.0b013e3181f4396b
Smith, C. K., Silverstein, B. A., Bonauto, D. K., Adams, D., & Joyce Fan, Z. (2010). Temporary workers in Washington State. American Journal of Industrial Medicine, 53(2), 135-145. URL: http://dx.doi.org/10.1002/ajim.20728
Silverstein, B. , Fan, Z. J. , Smith, C. K. , Bao, S. , Howard, N. , Spielholz, P. , . . . Viikari-Juntura, E. (2009). Gender adjustment or stratification in discerning upper extremity musculoskeletal disorder risk? Scand J Work Environ Health, 35(2), 113-126. URL: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/19294319
Smith, C. K., Silverstein, B. A., Fan, Z. J., Bao, S., & Johnson, P. W. (2009). Psychosocial factors and shoulder symptom development among workers. American Journal of Industrial Medicine, 52(1), 57-68. URL: http://dx.doi.org/10.1002/ajim.20644
Fan, Z. J., Smith, C. K., & Silverstein, B. A. (2008). Assessing Validity of the QuickDASH and SF-12 as Surveillance Tools among Workers with Neck or Upper Extremity Musculoskeletal Disorders. Journal of Hand Therapy, 21(4), 354-365. URL: http://dx.doi.org/10.1197/j.jht.2008.02.001
Spielholz, P., Cullen, J., Smith, C., Howard, N., Silverstein, B., & Bonauto, D. (2008). Assessment of perceived injury risks and priorities among truck drivers and trucking companies in Washington State. Journal of Safety Research, 39(6), 569-576. URL: http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.jsr.2008.09.005
Patrick Smith
Patrick received his bachelor’s degree in Sociology from the University of Missouri, Columbia, where he conducted research exploring the intersection of communication technology and social interaction patterns among college students. He is currently working towards his Master’s degree in Sociology here at Portland State where he serves as a teaching assistant. His current research focuses on the experiences of Portland State social science professors who have undergone a transition from teaching in-person to teaching online. This study examines the nature of computer-mediated teaching and learning, and how this medium of transmission influences the contentment and professional identity of university social science professors. His research interests include interaction and technology, identity, adult education, and quantitative and qualitative research methods. He is also an active member of the Sociology Graduate Student Association (SGSO). You may contact Patrick at smithpat@pdx.edu.
Matthew Town
Matthew Town is an enrolled member of the Choctaw Nation of Oklahoma. He graduated from Black Hills State University with a Bachelor's in Sociology and Oregon State University with a Master's in Public Health with an emphasis in Global Health. Matthew is pursuing his Ph.D. at Portland State University. Prior to returning to school full time, Matthew worked as a Program Director for the Aberdeen Area Tribal Chairmen's Health Board and the Northwest Portland Area Indian Health Board. His work focused on sexual and reproductive health as well as cancer health disparities among American Indians and Alaska Natives. His areas of interest include indigenous health, health disparities, global health, medical sociology and his research interests focus primarily on community-based participatory research. Matthew is a member of the Native Research Network, American Public Health Association, Pacific Sociological Association, International Network of Indigenous Health Knowledge and Development, and the Portland Area Indian Health Service Institutional Review Board. You can contact Matt at mtown@pdx.edu.
Kimberli Ulmer
Kimberli Ulmer graduated from Texas Tech University with a Bachelor's in Human Development and Family Studies, a Master's in Interdisciplinary Studies with an emphasis on Human Development and Sociology, and a Master's in Sociology. She is currently pursuing her Ph.D. at Portland State University and working as an instructor to fulfill her graduate assistantship. Her area of interest is primarily medical sociology from a global perspective with an emphasis on inequality and health disparities within and across nations using quantitative methodology. You can contact Kim Ulmer at ulm@pdx.edu.
Elizabeth Withers
Elizabeth received her bachelor's degree in Cultural Anthropology from the University of Oregon, her master's degree in Sociology from Portland State University, and is now working towards her PhD. She has been working with the Portland State Literacy, Language and Technology research group on a grant from the Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS) examining tutor-facilitated digital literacy acquisition in hard to serve populations. This three year project is focused on evaluating the Broadband Technology Opportunity Program (BTOP) which is utilizing Learner Web technology at different sites in California, Louisiana, Minnesota, New York, and Texas. Elizabeth’s interests are in medical sociology and racial and class-based health disparities with a focus on differences in the effects of education and digital literacy. She is interested in research methodologies and in particular mixed methods research designs which she is hoping to utilize in her dissertation research. She is also an active member of the PSU Sociology Graduate Student Organization (SGSO). You can reach Elizabeth at elizabew@pdx.edu.
